ColaBorates

Learning space of the future

In the last five years, teaching and learning at universities has changed rapidly. In addition to the classic lectures and seminars, new concepts such as flipped classrooms, blended learning and asynchronous teaching are being pursued. This development is being accelerated on the one hand by the experiences from the pandemic and, on the other hand, by the expectations of a student body that is becoming increasingly heterogeneous and predominantly comes from digital natives.

Today, teaching and learning materials can ideally be accessed at any time, are available worldwide and can be used flexibly. This has direct consequences for teaching and learning at universities: barrier-free learning spaces for flexible teaching and learning formats are becoming increasingly important here. Geisenheim University is therefore planning to convert a lecture and seminar room into a prototypical learning laboratory for collaborative and competency-oriented teaching and learning: the CoLAB.

A prototype is created

The room concept should be flexible and multifunctional and can be quickly configured for different work purposes (room-in-room concept). Freely positionable partitions and innovative, flexible furniture create changeable learning islands for different types of work.

With this novel teaching and learning setting, a spatial prototype is being developed that can also be planned and implemented in other buildings at the university.

In the area of ​​digital teaching, the university follows the concept of constructive alignment. Accordingly, learning objectives, teaching and learning content as well as examinations are consistently coordinated with one another. In order to prepare HGU students as best as possible for their future professional lives, teaching focuses not only on specialist skills but also on subject-independent skills such as teamwork and presentation skills as well as the development of future skills. These learning philosophies are conceptually implemented through competency-oriented teaching and learning, learning on concrete problems, learning through communication and collaboration, peer learning, creative learning as well as analytical and critical questioning. The lecturers take on the role of learning companions when teaching.

The CoLAB can be used for classic lectures and seminars as well as as a collaboration and experimental space for students, lecturers and employees (e.g. project teams). The primary target group of the project are teachers who want to promote collaboration with and among students in flexible, competency-oriented courses (Shift From Teaching to Learning).

In addition, the room is used by HGU students for individual learning or team work during idle times. The CoLAB is reserved via a booking system.

In a second project phase, additional separate rooms for individual student learning will be created at various locations on the campus.